http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/ Engadget Comments for Dell's Vostro 1310 keyboard putting the hurt on UK touch typists? http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 5:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 7:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/Dell laptops have always had a "standard" (i.e. Z under A) layout, and there is simply no reason why they should change it with this model; in fact, it must be some kind of gross mistake they have made.]]>May 1st 2008 7:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/Who the fu]]>May 1st 2008 9:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 10:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
Wake up dude...]]>May 1st 2008 1:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/In the UK the layout is also QWERTY, with differences mostly in the symbols you get when you shift the number keys.
I've never once encountered a UK keyboard that had a shifted Z row though, and I spent a fair bit of time using various keyboards at hospitals, a hostel, and internet cafes over a period of a few months.

I will say that it drove me nearly insane with the symbols though...the keyboards were so similar you'd usually forget that you have to hit different keys for the symbols. ]]>May 1st 2008 5:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
Touch typing is a no no. Have to watch where I type on the keyboard to see where the key's are.

Apart from that it is a nice machine.]]>May 1st 2008 5:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 9:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/carbonrain
a year late are we :P]]>May 9th 2008 3:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 9th 2008 7:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
And woah! That is quite an offset indeed! Sure, we have the \ key here on the UK to the left of Z, but it doesn't offset the rest of the keyboard. That's crazy, I'd die with a layout like that! Forever typing words wrong, like vo,e, nook, biew, emgadget...]]>May 1st 2008 5:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 5:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
obviously what happens when staff are being laid off... was probably designed by an intern who thought he did a fantastic job of saving money.]]>May 1st 2008 5:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/a laptop is by far nowhere a cheap purchase.
and even if the price is cheaper than other laptops it doesnt mean that as a consumer they are entitled to crap and horrid designs. nor does it mean they have no right to protest about it.

how does it feel to type from your 24kart gold lined keyboard? like a snob? yeah, that is what i thought.]]>May 1st 2008 8:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 3:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 3:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 5:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 5:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jacobgordon/2455618195/

I'm utterly, utterly furious about this.]]>May 1st 2008 6:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 9:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 9:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 2nd 2008 5:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
I agree that the UK Dell website is incorrect in showing a US laptop but in fairness to Dell they cannot be expected to get every product photo from every region correct.]]>May 1st 2008 5:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
This keyboard would be unusable to anyone who touch types.
]]>May 1st 2008 6:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 5:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
The keyboard layout on the bottomw row is one too far to the right.
The Z should sit between the A and S, the \ key goes to the left of that. UK keyboards have a smaller Shift key.]]>May 1st 2008 6:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
http://www.bsjp.co.uk/ict/keyboard1.jpg

As you can see, the only difference between it and Jake's Vostro is that they have made the left "shift" button larger, and shrunk the right "shift" button, thus moving the "zxcvbnm" keys one step to the right. Why they would do this is an absolute mystery.

]]>May 1st 2008 6:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
For some time now the extra Euro-key has been troubling keyboards on the right side of the pond.

I'd like to know which Euro-tard insisted that there by a symbol key between the left-Shift and the Z key. No one asked us! What's wrong with a larger shift key?

But what Dell has done is uses a US keyboard layout, but Euro-ized it by inserting a pointless symbol key. In the process the dork has shifted an entire row of keys to the right!

Reject it and buy a Macbook man.



]]>May 1st 2008 6:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
How about "reject it and buy a different Dell," or "reject it and buy an Acer" or "reject it and buy any other laptop."


Why do Apple fans always jump to "Buy Apple! Buy Apple! Be like me! Think like me!" Every company has their fanatics, but Apple seems to be more.
You guys are the scientologists of computer nerds, always trying to convert people to your wacky ways. "We're all different in the same way, be like us!"]]>May 1st 2008 9:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
Yes, the backslash key will typically be tucked in between the shift key and the "z" on a UK keyboard, but not in such a way as to shift the entire row to the right. EG, YHN should form a "backslash diagonal", not YHB, as on this misconceived layout.

--
Chris
]]>May 1st 2008 6:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
I am a touch typer, but I cant use the z on a keyboard properly, always had problems with it, and with the layout they have now the z is really hard to use. Luckily I rarely use it.]]>May 1st 2008 6:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
That is utterly insane though... Who on earth thought that was a good idea...]]>May 1st 2008 6:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/ That's a standard laptop layout for UK and has been for many manufactuers.

OK - send one photo of an existing UK keyboard that has this layout then (with the bottom row of letters shifted over).

> Must be a slow news day.

There *is* something slow around here today that's for sure.
]]>May 1st 2008 6:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
I'm still learning and so not really any faster than I wan on qwerty but touch typing is soooo much more comfortable, it just makes so much sense this way around :)

(Anyone annoyed by this who has one and wants to keep qwerty, pop the keys off and rearrange it yourself!)]]>May 1st 2008 6:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/
I think the normal differences between North American and European keyboards are confusing people here. I have blogged about that at http://bitguru.wordpress.com/2008/05/23/ansi-vs-iso-keyboards/]]>May 23rd 2008 9:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/01/dells-vostro-keyboads-putting-the-hurt-on-uk-touch-typists/May 1st 2008 6:51AM